Politics and International Relations – two closely related disciplines – are combined in this popular, single honours political science degree.

Employed Aston Social Studies (including Politics) graduates earn £4,800 (27%) more than the UK average one year after graduating, according to the government's Longitudinal Education Outcomes survey (LEO).

A Level applicants who select this course as their Firm UCAS choice may be eligible for our lowered offer scheme. This means that the grades that you will need in order to be accepted on to the course will be reduced.

We welcome applications from students who have tried to improve their examination grades by taking resits. We treat these applications in exactly the same way as other applications.

*Applicants who select this course as their Firm UCAS choice may be eligible for our lowered offer scheme. This means that the A Level grades that you will need in order to be accepted on to the course will be reduced.

32 points in the IB diploma (including TOK/Bonus points) with 6,5,5 at HL.

Standard level Maths and English grade 5 required in lieu of GCSE English and Maths grade C/4.

Applicants who select this course as their Firm UCAS choice may be eligible for our lowered offer scheme. This means that the grades that you will need in order to be accepted on to the course will be reduced.

Pass Access to HE Diploma with Merit in each module. Humanities, Social Sciences or Business Access course preferred, but other courses considered on an individual basis.

EPQ: A Level applicants who meet our offer criteria will be made the standard offer for their programme of choice, plus an alternative offer which will be one grade lower plus a grade B in EPQ, providing this course is selected as their Firm UCAS choice.

Other qualifications:If your qualification is not listed, please contact us using the form at the bottom of the page.

Foundation Programme in Social Science (Aston University): For students with good A-level (or equivalent) grades, but who narrowly miss our standard requirements, it is also possible to gain entry to this course by completing a Foundation Year, although please note theprogression requirements.

Whilst the grades listed here are our entry requirements, we understand that predicted grades are only an estimate. We will therefore consider applicants with predicted grades that fall below these entry requirements if the application is of a high standard(however, initial offers will not be lower than stated below).

In addition to your predicted grades, when making offers we also consider your previous academic performance (eg GCSEs), your school/college reference and the commitment and motivation you demonstrate for your chosen course via the personal statement.

Application for second year entry will be considered by the programme director if there is space on that year of the programme. Typically, successful applicants for second year entry will:

Have A level (or equivalent) qualifications similar to those required for first year entry

Have gained (or be expected to gain) 120 credits on an equivalent programme at another recognised university

Obtained (or be expected to obtain) an overall average of 60% or above on an equivalent programme at another recognised university

Have not previously attempted the second year of a programme elsewhere

Individual programmes may have additional requirements in addition to those stated above. These will be clarified upon application.

The information contained on this website details the typical entry requirements for this course for the most commonly offered qualifications. Applicants with alternative qualifications may wish to enquire with the relevant admissions teams prior to application whether or not their qualifications are deemed acceptable. For less commonly encountered qualifications this will be judged on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the academic admissions tutor.

Aston's Politics course is ranked 12th in the UK for Research Quality in the 2017 Complete University Guide

Politics and International Relations – two closely related disciplines – are combined in this popular, single honours political science degree. The programme explores politics and international relations in British, European and global settings and examines theories about the nature of politics and international relations from the ancient to the modern world. You will explore the complex relationship between ethics and international action via co-operation or conflict. The history and present day functionality of the European Union and policy-making at international, national and regional levels is also explored.

To prepare our graduates for careers in a global environment, there is a practical element of language learning via a module in Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Japanese or Portuguese.

The placement year is an optional feature of the programme and is designed to give you real life experience and to act as a springboard to your future career.

Sample module options: The modules below are indicative only. When an offer is made, students will receive a detailed programme specification which forms part of our terms and conditions.

Year 1

Core modules:Introduction to Studying and Researching PoliticsIntroduction to the Concepts and Methods of International RelationsBritish Politics since 1945Introduction to the European UnionLanguages for All

Optional modules:The Making of the Modern WorldWhat’s trending? (Current affairs in International Relations and Politics)

Year 2

Core modules:History of Political ThoughtComparative Government and PoliticsInternational Relations: Theories and IssuesRegional Politics and Society

Optional modules:Security Studies in a Changing WorldIntroduction to Political EconomyLanguages for All

Year 3

Integrated placement year

Final Year

Optional modules:EuroSim: Learning Negotiation through Simulation GamesThe International Relations of East AsiaReligion and Politics in Contemporary EuropePolitical CommunicationThe American PresidencyNationalism & Political PowerPolitical Parties and Party SystemsConflict and Politics in Contemporary BalkansContemporary ConflictDiplomacy and Soft PowerThe Far Right in EuropeThe Politics of Climate ChangeUnderstanding Foreign PolicyNortheast Asia: From Conflict to CooperationGender and PoliticsInterest groups and lobbyingRegions and Regionalism in EuropeContemporary Political TheoryPolitical Leaders: Case Studies and Comparative PerspectivesIntellectuals and PoliticsPower and Parliamentary Decision-MakingEthics and International PoliticsLanguages for All

You will be involved in lectures and seminars, small group work projects and independent study. Many of your modules will be in workshop format, alternating theoretical input with practical analysis, and allowing you to test out your understanding in discussion with other students and your tutor. There are also opportunities for group and collaborative work. Students undertake a major piece of independent research in Final Year. You will be allocated an academic supervisor for this work and a Personal Tutor who can provide you with help and advice throughout your studies.

Assessment is through a combination of exams, project-based course work, essays, presentations and an extended dissertation during your Final Year.

“I became interested in politics because, when I was younger, I realised everything was political in some way – whether you could afford to go to university, for example – or whether you could afford not to! I became particularly interested in how leaders persuaded us of what we should do about injustices in the world, and how to make things better. All my teaching and research are about leadership and persuasion and how the world works politically. One really fascinating thing to do is to compare different countries to see similarities and differences between their histories and political cultures. My favourite place (outside the UK!) is France, and I often appear on British and French TV and radio, and I blog, and write in letters to The Guardian and do opinion pieces for New Statesman, Cnn.opinion, huffington post etc to try and persuade people I am right!”

“My research focuses on post-conflict societies and their democratisation and reconciliation, drawing on Serbia and Kosovo as specific cases. Throughout my research, I also collaborate with other scholars, and therefore the issues that I look at can be quite wide ranging. For instance, I’ve recently investigated how Serbia as a society deals with war crimes and legacies of the past, but also how Serbia and Kosovo – previously at war – interact in peacetime. Much of this feeds directly into my teaching. I teach a module called ‘Conflict and Politics in Contemporary Balkans’, where I include insights from my research and trips to the region. On a module called ‘Conflict, Intervention and Reconciliation’, there are sessions dedicated to post-conflict justice and prosecuting of war crimes, so Serbia and Kosovo often feature as examples which we compare to other parts of the world. Most recently, I spent some time at the Centre for European Studies, Harvard, as a visiting scholar, where I worked on a new research project on social movements in Serbia. There is a rich tradition of protest and social movements in the Western Balkans more generally, so this will be the basis of one of the lectures I will teach next semester.”

The placement year is optional for students studying Politics and International Relations. If you choose to take a placement year, this will take place during your third year at Aston and is worth 10% of the final degree result. Unlike some other universities, the placement year at Aston is not a ''bolt-on'' year it is an integral part of your degree for which you are prepared in your second year.

A distinctive feature of our placement year is the flexibility that we offer. You will be able to choose between undertaking a paid work-experience placement with a company or working as a teaching assistant in a school (either in the UK or abroad) - you might even choose to combine two of these options.

We are extremely proud of the high level of preparation, orientation and support that we provide before and during your year abroad. We have a full-time Placements Team who will give you plenty of individual help and advice, and even come and visit you during your time away.